Filling the health gaps

The modular buildings are an extension of the Allied Health in Outback Schools Program, where university students on placements provide early intervention therapy to school children.

The health hubs mean the university students no longer have to deliver therapy in school hallways, foyers or spare classrooms.

The program aims to provide better health and education outcomes for students, give allied health students experience, and make a more manageable load for the local health industry.

School principals approached the University of Sydney's Department of Rural Health (UDRH) in Broken Hill about seven years ago, with a fear many children were being held back by poor speech and language skills.

Claire Brunero, a speech pathology supervisor and academic at the department, said it could be hard to access allied health services in the far west.

"Broken Hill has been known to have a patchy access to allied health service ... with allied health professionals staying for short periods of time, and then chunks of time when there was no one sitting in those positions," she said.

The high staff turnover meant many children had to be reassessed every time they saw a new specialist.

Health hubs seeing success

Broken Hill Public School principal Michael Fisher said the program had helped children become more engaged in the classroom.

"The confidence the children now have to take on other types of learning, those children that have been targeted for their speech and occupational therapy, I've just seen their confidence and being able to learn," Mr Fisher said.

"We're actually starting to see teachers and staff being able to recognise children with those needs a lot earlier now as well."

Deb Jones, director of primary healthcare at the UDRH, is completing her PhD on the effectiveness of having university students providing therapy on school grounds.

She said her research had found many alumni of the placement program felt more work-ready and had gone on to work in rural and remote areas.

Ms Jones said anecdotal evidence suggested the program was also improving the performance of children.

"What we're actually hearing from our Year 1, Year 2 teachers is that these children are starting to engage better in their learning process in the schools," Ms Jones said.

"We would hope to see in the coming years, as we start to look at those NAPLAN results, as we start to look at the social and the academic engagement of these children, is hopefully improvements in those outcomes."